SYDNEY - About a third of Australian women are traumatized by childbirth and midwives' counseling can ease their distress, a study by Australian researchers revealed on Monday.

The study led by psychologist Professor Debra Creedy from the University of Queensland, surveyed 1,038 pregnant Australian women with no previous history of mental illness.

The study revealed that about 30 percent women described childbirth as "horrific" or "terrifying" after they gave birth.

"They feared for their life or that of their baby," said Creedy, who's been studying maternity health for over 15 years.

Untreated trauma could lead to anxiety or postnatal depression, causing reactions like excessive concern for their kids or fear of giving birth again, according to the study.

"Unless these sorts of emotions are dealt with in a productive way they can have lasting effects on women," Creedy said.

The study was presented at The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Congress in Darwin on Monday.

Creedy and a team of researchers from the University of Queensland trained a team of midwives in counseling skills.

They randomly selected some of the traumatized mums to undergo counseling within 72 hours of birth and four to six weeks later.

The other traumatized women received parent support services - practical advice covering things like settling the baby and breast feeding - and were monitored in case their condition developed into something more serious.

"Both groups improved six weeks after giving birth but in the longer term those women who received parenting support did much worse." Creedy told Australian Associated Press (AAP).

At 12 months after giving birth, almost 20 percent of the supported group reported moderate to severe depression.

But only eight percent of women counseled by midwives were still struggling with mental illness.

"We found midwives are very well placed to support the emotional needs of women because they understand childbirth," she said.

"They can talk with the woman about what happened and why that procedure may have been necessary and to normalize a woman's responses."